Bhagabat Tungis and Sankirtan Mandalis need to be promoted or else they will slip into oblivion one day, said Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Arabinda Padhee at the 171st “Meet the Artist” programme held on the Jatin Das Centre of Arts (JDCA) premises on Saturday.
Padhee informed that the Culture department has a proposal to organise a festival specifically devoted to literature every year, saying that literature and culture are inter-linked.
This would be a separate event in addition to the host of literary programmes being organised by the Odisha Sahitya Ekademi, he maintained. Giving a presentation on “Conservation and Promotion of Art and Culture by Government of Odisha,” Padhee informed on what his department is doing for the conservation and promotion of art and culture and what it has planned to do.
Apart from conserving the temples and monuments of Odisha, the Culture department is also now digitising rare books and records which are in progress at the Odisha State Archives, he maintained.
He further said that Sri Jagannatha Museum will be set up on the premises of the Utkal Sanskrit University at Puri. The department has also planned to construct a sand art park at Puri. Development of State Museum into international standard, promoting international cultural relation, music CDs and MP3 of Odia bhajans and Sambalpuri songs are also included in planned activities of the department, Padhee said.
Among others, linguist Devi Prasanna Pattanayak, former diplomat Abasara Beuria, Culture department Director Sushil Kumar Das and archaeologist Kishore Kumar Basha were present.